A Legacy Woven Through Generations
For some families, history lives in photographs and stories.
Honi Reifler | Glenreagh School of Arts Cedar and Steam Art Exhibition
Keeping Steam Alive at Glenreagh
For nearly 50 years, Honi has called Glenreagh home. What began as a move to establish a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre has. grown into a lifetime of service, creativity and community involvement. Together with her husband, Honi founded Sherwood Cliffs, a rehabilitation centre that has supported countless people on their journey toward recovery. While their daughter and son-in-law now lead the organisation, Honi remains actively involved—not only with Sherwood Cliffs but with many of the community projects that make Glenreagh such a special place. If there’s one word that runs through everything Honi does, it’s connection. And nowhere is that connection more visible than at the Glenreagh Timber Festival.
More Than Timber
For many people, the Glenreagh Timber Festival is a celebration of timber heritage, machinery, woodchopping and rural traditions. For Honi, it’s also an opportunity for people to reconnect with themselves and with their community. “It’s tremendously important,” she says. Through Sherwood Cliffs, Honi works closely with people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Many arrive having spent years disconnected from family, friends and community life.
Part of recovery, she explains, is learning how to reconnect. That’s why the Glenreagh Timber Festival plays such an important role. Each year, Sherwood Cliffs residents volunteer throughout the festival, helping with jobs that many people never notice. They empty bins. They help keep facilities clean. They lend a hand wherever it’s needed. While these tasks may seem small, Honi knows their true value runs much deeper. “It’s not just the bins and toilets,” she explains. “It’s learning to see a need and realising you can contribute.”
For many participants, it’s one of the first opportunities they’ve had in years to feel connected, valued and part of something bigger than themselves.
Cedar and Steam
Honi’s passion for community extends beyond the festival itself. Through her involvement with the Glenreagh Museum, she helped establish the Cedar and Steam Art Exhibition, an event that has become a much-loved part of the local calendar.
Running since 2007, the exhibition celebrates both Glenreagh’s cedar history and its connection to the steam railway that helped shape the region. But more importantly, it creates opportunities. “We want anybody who wants to exhibit,” Honi says. From photography and painting to sculpture, fibre art and children’s entries, the exhibition encourages participation from artists of all ages and abilities. The goal isn’t simply to showcase talent. It’s to bring people together.
Creating Opportunities
That same philosophy inspires Honi’s vision for the Timber Festival. This year, she’s hoping to bring creativity into the festival experience through a children’s activity where participants build a bullock team from cardboard and recycled materials. It’s a perfect blend of art, history and hands-on learning. More importantly, it gives children a chance to engage with the stories and traditions that have shaped Glenreagh. For Honi, community events should always create opportunities for participation. Not just observation.
The Magic of Belonging
When asked about her favourite festival memories, Honi doesn’t immediately think of attractions or displays. Instead, she remembers the people. The child proudly helping out. The volunteer receiving a simple nod of appreciation. The person who has spent years struggling with addiction discovering they can still contribute something valuable. “It’s the sense of satisfaction,” she says. That feeling of being acknowledged. Of belonging. Of knowing your efforts matter. In a small community like Glenreagh, those moments can be life changing.
A Festival That Brings People Together
Honi also fondly remembers the colourful street parades that once formed part of the festival. There were homemade floats, trucks filled with costumed volunteers, local characters dressed as timber workers and washerwomen, and plenty of laughter along the way. “It was fun,” she recalls. But beneath the fun was something deeper. The Glenreagh Timber Festival gave people a reason to work together, create together and celebrate together. And that’s exactly why it continues to matter today.
As the festival approaches its twentieth year, Honi believes its greatest strength isn’t found in any one attraction. It’s found in the people. The volunteers. The families. The artists. The workers. The visitors. And those who arrive looking for connection and discover they are part of a community. Because in Glenreagh, everyone has something to contribute. And the Glenreagh Timber Festival is one of the places where that contribution is celebrated.
Read More Tales
Finding Home in Glenreagh
Sometimes home is where you’re born. Sometimes it’s where you choose to stay.
Keeping Steam Alive at Glenreagh at Shannondale Steam Shed
There’s something magical about steam. The hiss of escaping pressure, the rhythmic chug of machinery, and the smell of hot oil and timber transport us back to a time when these remarkable machines powered the industries that built regional Australia.
